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Since
ancient times gold leaf has played a significant
role as an indispensable material for religious
architecture and ornaments as a symbol of eternity
as it never corrodes. Gold leaf is made by beating
gold into a wafer-thin leaf only one-10000th millimeter
thick, using an alloy of gold and a small amount
of silver and bronze. This traditional craft hinges
entirely on craftsmen's intuition and artistry. |
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Gold leaf is so
thin that light shines through the material. It
is so delicate that it breaks into pieces just by
touching it with your finger, which generates static
electricity, making it stick to your finger. The
commercial production of gold leaf dates back to
400 years ago. The introduction of Kanazawa gold
leaf abroad coincided with the defeat of Germany
in the First World War as German gold leaf had dominated
the world market before the war. |
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Kanazawa
gold leaf consists of 4 stages of the production
process; making an alloy, beating it to a certain
thickness, beating it into a wafer-thin leaf only
one-10000th millimeter thick by putting it between
two sheets of paper and refining its shape. The
quality of paper employed in the third stage of
the process is particular crucial as the quality
of paper directly reflects the quality of the end
product. It is said that 90% of the success hinges
on it. |
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As
Japanese paper has a coarse texture with numerous
minute fibers on the surface, craftsmen endeavor
to make it as flat as possible by compressing and
processing it. In order to achieve this, they employ
a very primitive method; they immerse the paper
in special liquid mixed with albumen, persimmon
juice, drying it and pounding it with a machine.
This process is repeated at leaset 30 or 40 times. |
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Kinkakuji (The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion) is famous all over
the world for the fact that the building is filled
with gold leaf. What is remarkable is that all the
gold leaf, a wafer-thin leaf only one-10000th millimeter
thick, was applied to the building by hand, not
to mention the gorgeous atmosphere that the temple
produces. Indeed, it is an astonishing craftsmen's
artistry. |
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Sakuda |
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Sakuda
has been involved in the gold leaf industry since
the prewar period. The shop features a wide variety
of products using gold leaf and also offers a studio
where you can enjoy the experience of designing
your original chopsticks. |
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